For Car Lovers and Bookworms: 4 Books Gearheads Would Find Very Engaging

Being a car enthusiast goes beyond making sure the muffler is cleaned or the exhaust system working properly; it spills over some of the things they do and are interested in, including the books they read. Yeah that’s right! Many of them are bookworms too! And as such, there are lots of fictional and non-fictional books that cater to these gearheads. Listed below are four reads they find very engaging.

Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and The Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A.J. Baime

It’s about one of racing history’s biggest grudge match: Ford vs. Ferrari. Go Like Hell tells the story of the Ford Motor Company’s struggle to keep up with the public’s demand for faster and more stylish cars. Along the way comes Ferrari, a brand that promises style, speed, and much much more. What comes next is a competition that led to the gripping boxing-match of machine and driver as they went head-to-head in one of the world’s most prestigious and dangerous races, the Le Mans. Henry Ford II took over his father’s legacy in the motor business and is battling it out with Enzo Ferrari at the 24-hour race, all forms of safety aside!

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein

In this novel we meet a dog named Enzo, whose almost-human mind can be compared to that of a philosopher. He learned all that he knows about life and the human condition through television and from his master, an up-and-coming race car driver named Denny Swift. He realized going through life is just like racing in the tracks: it isn’t just about being the fastest one and winning. The Art of Racing in the Rain is one of those fictional books that are funny, uplifting, but can still deliver to gearheads lessons that are fit for life and racing.

Life At the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One by Professor Sid Watkins

Professor Sid Watkins was Grand Prix’s on-track doctor, and this book serves as his memoir about getting on a crash site first, improving the safety regulations in the circuit and responding quickly whenever an incident ensues. One of its appeals comes from the fact that the narrator is not a driver, but someone who is watching from the sidelines yet not detached from the action, making sure that tragedies become less frequent.

The Limit: Life and Death in Formula One’s Most Dangerous Era by Michael Cannell

Cannell tells the story of Phil Hill and Wolfgang Von Tripps, two of Ferrari’s best racers in a competition many considers to be one of the most dangerous ever—the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It’s about Hill’s and Von Tripps’ different experiences, from their childhood up until the point when they decided they wanted to race, as well as the various events that led to them signing up to race for Enzo Ferrari. Cannell was able to weave these events together and to take readers up to its intense climax—the Monza race that decided it all!

These four books contain a good mix of racing history, fictional flair and real-life experience both from a racer’s and spectator’s points of view. A healthy blend of thrill, adrenaline, and inspiration, it would engage any reader be they car lover or otherwise. So go on and pick up a book or two from this list, and open your mind to the world of grease and hot rod.